Man Stops Traffic at 17th and K to Demand $200 Million
Morning Roundup: Goodbye, Abe Edition
Judge Throws Out WTU Suit Over Teacher Layoffs
Vegetate to Close at the End of the Month
Morning Roundup: Rain Won't Go Away Edition
Last night the D.C. Commission on Arts and Humanities held a meeting in the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library to solicit opinions regarding public art in the city. DCCAH hired consultants (Via Partnership and Todd Bressi, an urban planner) last summer to research and present a five-year plan to identify locations, projects and collaborations that would most benefit both the residents and visitors of D.C. Last night's meeting invited city residents to come and interact with advocates of public art, with the goal of developing new ideas and hearing what citizens want to see.
Since August, the consultants — along with a 40-person advisory panel and the commissioners — have met with various groups to discuss these issues. Gallerists, developers and artists have all gotten face-time with the group (we hear they're meeting with the Black Artists of DC this afternoon). In the past few months, the consultants have identified three main goals to work towards when creating public art:
The consultants are trying to identify special places in the city, such as historical districts, highly-trafficked pedestrian areas and "hearts" of neighborhoods, which would most benefit from the placement of public art. Sondra Arkin, a local artist and advisory panel member, said one particularly interesting suggestion included putting more local art on the National Mall for visitors to enjoy in between Smithsonians. They're paying attention to include all eight wards, and may also lengthen the time for calls for artists, which, right now, often gives artists only a few weeks to put together a massive pubic art proposal.
- Art in Places that Shape Community Life
- Art that Advances the City's Greeen Agenda
- Art that Celebrates the City's Creative Economy
Emily Blumenfelt, with Via Partnerships, said that D.C. is in an unusual position when it comes to our public art funding. Most cities get their art budget tied to capital projects (e.g. money for a mural included in a new stadium budget), but in D.C., the Commission on Arts and Humanities just gets a lump sum they can spend however they like. This gives the city a huge opportunity to be flexible and experimental, but, as Blumenfelt also noted, creates other missed opportunities when the DCCAH isn't called in on a new city project. Their mission is to create a balance and take advantage of the wide-range of projects available, including becoming more visible to developers and urban planners.
We also spoke with Rachel Dickerson, the D.C. Creates Public Arts Manager and liason between the DCCAH and the consultants. She revealed the five-year plan should be announced to the public sometime in May or June, though it's unclear how detailed it will be, whether it will just stress goals and possible paths to achieving them, or will actually describe art projects, specific locations and allocation of funds.
Last night, D.C. residents gathered in a room that was split into three large tables (each representing one of the three goals) and staffed by commissioners or consultants. Large, detailed maps showed the existing public artworks around the city, while other maps were available to mark with our suggestions for future spots. Residents sat around and filled out questionnaires, or spoke with the many commissioners, consultants and influential art people in the room.
Naturally, the idea of sitting down and coming up with specific goals for public art in D.C. is something we applaud. Whether or not last night's meeting for residents to express their opinions was actually something that will affect the plan, we can't really say. During the two-hour meeting, which started very early at 5 p.m., we'd guess about 20 or so people not affiliated with DCCAH stopped through. Our questionnaires included questions like, "What is your favorite public art project in D.C.? Why?" and "Where are the great community gathering places in your neighborhood?" But the questionnaire is not available to fill out online, nor is there a specific person or web site to reach for your questions or suggestions. When we asked Ms. Dickerson about an online questionnaire, she seemed eager to make it available, though we get the impression it's low on the priority list at the moment. She told us people could contact her at rachel.dickerson[at]dc[dot]gov, so if you have suggestions or want to see that questionaire online, drop her a line.
There likely won't be another meeting for the public to consult on the five-year plan, though meetings with D.C. subgroups will continue for the next month or two, before everything is finalized and they announce in the spring.
add to stumble upon
add to reddit
tweet this
post to facebook
I predict as much, if not more, success as the previous five year plans.
Could the local government even put artwork on the national mall? Isn't that under the control of the park service?
All I know is if someone suggests putting donkeys, elephants, or pandas all over town, I'm going to slap them.
Bethesdaist-
I've dealt with Park Service before and I don't think that you would be able to. They are very against anything that can be construed as signage.
You could likely propose it, but it would have to be worked out between the Commission of Fine Arts (federal agency) and Park Service.
Park Service is notoriously understaffed and would likely kill the project under its own intertia.
Yeah, that was my poor phrasing. I should have said "near" or "down by" the Mall, not directly on it.
interesting that the corner of florida and new york is the only "gateway" location not at the city border or on a river.